Mid-Day Market Update: Chiquita Gains On Merger News; Cliffs Natural Shares Drop

Midway through trading Monday, the Dow traded down 0.51 percent to 16,369.25 while the NASDAQ tumbled 0.30 percent to 4,323.42. The S&P also fell, dropping 0.36 percent to 1,871.34.

Leading and Lagging Sectors
In trading on Monday, healthcare shares declined by about 0.09 percent. Top gainers in the sector were Idera Pharmaceuticals IDRA, Galena Biopharma GALE, Alexion Pharmaceuticals ALXN and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals PPHM.

Basic materials sector was the leading decliner in the US market today. Among the sector stocks, Cliffs Natural Resources CLF was down more than 4.6 percent, while Companhia Siderurgica Nacional SID tumbled around 4.4 percent.

Top Headline
McDonald's MCD reported a 0.3% drop in its global same-store sales in February. Analysts were expecting a 0.1% decline in global comparable sales. McDonald's US same-store sales fell 1.4% in February, versus analysts' expectations for a 0.6% drop. Comparable sales rose 0.6% in Europe, while sales tumbled 2.6% in Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

Equities Trading UP
Montage Technology Group MONT shot up 20.16 percent to $20.62 after the company received a non-binding proposal from Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology to purchase the company at $21.50 per share.

Shares of FuelCell Energy FCEL got a boost, shooting up 11.33 percent to $3.93 ahead of quarterly earnings after the closing bell. FuelCell Energy is estimated to post a Q1 loss at $0.04 per share on revenue of $43.44 million.

Chiquita Brands International CQB was also up, gaining 13.28 percent to $12.28 on announced merger with Irish rival Fyffes. Chiquita agreed to acquire Fyffes in an all-stock deal.

Equities Trading DOWN
Shares of Walter Energy WLT were down 4.88 percent to $9.94 after the company commenced process to amend credit facility.

Cliffs Natural Resources CLF shares tumbled 4.72 percent to $17.77 after the company confirmed the receipt of director nominations by Casablanca Capital. Axiom initiated coverage on the stock with a Sell rating and a $10.00 price target.

Perfect World Co PWRD was down, falling 5.67 percent to $23.61 after the company reported its recent business developments. Perfect World is expected to post its Q4 earnings at $0.43 per share on revenue of $142.11 million.

Commodities
In commodity news, oil traded down 1.26 percent to $101.29, while gold traded up 0.26 percent to $1,341.70.

Silver traded down 0.11 percent Monday to $20.91, while copper fell 1.33 percent to $3.04.

Eurozone
European shares were mostly lower today.

The Spanish Ibex Index fell 0.02 percent, while Italy's FTSE MIB Index climbed 0.21 percent.

Meanwhile, the German DAX dropped 1.05 percent and the French CAC 40 declined 0.11 percent while U.K. shares fell 0.40 percent.

Economics
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans is expected to speak today.